Little Boots, Class Actress & Body Language at Highline Ballroom

Little Boots at Highline Ballroom 3.2.10

I’ve been writing about Little Boots since the early days of Tastes Like Caramel, an artist who has gone from covering songs from her bedroom on YouTube to winning BBC’s Sound of 2009 Award and back around. Over a year ago I landed one of my first in-person interviews with Victoria Hasketh at the height of the hype during one of her rare shows in New York prior to the release of the album.

About 5 months later her much anticipated debut album Hands was released, and honestly I wasn’t 100% in love. It was as if the big sound I’d fell in love with on such songs as Stuck on Repeat and Meddle had been confined and restrained for the album. The last time I saw Little Boots was last May at le poisson rouge, and once again felt a sense of confinement bordering frustration from Victoria’s stage presence.

However last night was a different story when Little Boots took the stage after 11PM at Highline Ballroom. From the set design consisting of mirrors, discoballs, crystals, volumized costumes, lasers and a laser harp, everything about Little Boots was bigger and better. I feel like THIS was the show that she had been wanting to do all along: visually and musically. The set clocked in at nearly an hour and covered most of Hands and included a new piano ballad “inspired by Twilight but not” titled Echoes (or Echo.) Hands sounded and looked much better in this context, a nearly flawless performance!

Class Actress at Highline Ballroom 3.2.10

However, Little Boots was not the only one to shine last night. As always Body Language put on a great supporting set, but I was very pleasantly entertained by the synth maelstrom that was Class Actress. Formed in Brooklyn, Class Actress‘ singer Elizabeth Harper has carved out a heavy, 80′s derived pop sound that will surely keep ears buzzing throughout 2010.

The band’s debut EP Journal of Ardency was released last month on Terrible Records (founded by Chris Taylor from Grizzly Bear and Ethan Silverman), be sure to purchase your copy HERE. Keep your eyes and ears open for Class Actress on tour, including a run through at SXSW.

mp3: Class Actress – Journal of Ardency [alt]
mp3: Class Actress – Careful What You Say [alt]
mp3: Little Boots – Remedy (Rusko’s Big Trainers Remix) [alt]